Franchisees and franchisors continue to fight new minimum wage laws by U.S. cities that discriminate unfairly against small business owners who are affiliated with franchise systems. Are these types of laws “industry specific” within the meaning of Item 1 of the Franchise Disclosure Document?

2014 was a challenging year for franchising, seeing two new broad-based forms of attack on the franchise model driven by labor unions. The International Franchise Association has created a coalition to fight back.

The National Labor Relations Board’s Office of the General Counsel announced today that it has issued 13 consolidated complaints against franchisor McDonald’s USA, LLC and McDonald’s franchisees naming them “joint employers.”